Aaron Bolton

A long waiting list at Montana's only state-run psychiatric hospital has left inmates untreated and stuck in county jails. To fix it, health officials want changes to involuntary commitment laws.

New ideas like "safe storage maps" show gun owners where to put their firearms in safekeeping if a mental health crisis happens. The idea has support, but obstacles are in the way in some states.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, medical providers are encountering more legal and political battles — and escalating threats from the anti-abortion movement.

Injuries, abuse, and neglect have continued at the state-run psychiatric facility that lost its federal certification due to preventable patient deaths. But an information blackout remains.

In Montana and across the nation, homeless shelters report the worrisome trend that seniors are a growing proportion of their residents.

Doctors say more of their patients are seeking permanent sterilization procedures, but some patients are reporting that doctors are unwilling to operate on people of childbearing age.

Montana's Blackfeet Nation is experimenting with a new way to detect chronic wasting disease in animals and toxic substances in plants used by tribal members for food and cultural practices.

After 17 overdoses — including four deaths — this spring, Indigenous leaders in Montana and surrounding states look for ways to stop the fentanyl crisis and provide more treatment and care.

The Red Cross has, for the first time, declared a national blood donation crisis. Some hospitals say they're rationing blood products. And blood banks are scrambling to encourage donations.

To keep emergency services afloat in rural areas, communities will have to go beyond volunteer-based programs to get people to distant hospitals, experts say. Meanwhile, some 911 calls go unanswered.